Author: balancewithtabbi

I just realized that I put a post out yesterday without acknowledging the new year. I cannot believe 2015 is over. Did it even happen? When I was younger, I was always told by older adults “Just wait, the older you get, the faster it goes!”. I never took that serious because, to me, time moved soo slowly. Think about it… Didn’t high school seem like it took forever? Even undergrad seemed to take forever when I was going through it. At the time it seemed like it was never going to end, but looking back now I do not feel like I should be 25 years old. I feel like my life has skipped ahead from when I was 18 to now.

I never plan New Years resolutions. I think that if you want something to change, you should start immediately. Do not wait for the beginning of the new year, new week, or new month. Start now! However, the start of the new year does make you look at the bigger picture of how your life is going and where you want to be. Did 2015 go as you hoped? Are you where you thought you would be a year ago? Has life changed or stayed the same? Did you start that new hobby you wanted to learn? Did you read enough books?

2015 was a big year of change for me. I got married February 28th. I planned my wedding in just 8 weeks. It was insane. Wedding planning and graduate thesis writing at once is not something I would recommend. Even with the stress and emotional roller coaster, I graduated with my Master of Public Health degree in April. My husband was deployed in May and I got to be there to see him off. I traveled with my family last summer to Wellsboro, PA to see the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and to New York City for the first time. I got to go to my favorite place in the world, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, twice this year. In September, I quit both of my jobs because I moved to Oahu in October. Not working is so weird to me because I got my first job when I turned 16 years old and didn’t stop working since then. Often times, especially during my undergraduate education, I was working 50 hours a week, while going to school full-time. My husband tried to ease my guilt of not working by saying I am on an “extended vacation” until we move back to PA. I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner for me, my husband, and his friends. My husband and I traveled to Kauai in December, which was so beautiful and fun! I also had my first Thanksgiving and Christmas ever away from my family, which was hard. I am glad we will be back there for next Christmas. This year I have been in probably the best shape of my life, since high school, overall. I workout 5-7 days a week (for the most part, everyone has slack weeks here and there). I eat healthier than I ever have before.

So what do I hope 2016 will bring or what am I looking forward to this year? 1. A job- I started applying to places back in PA, so fingers crossed that I will find something between now and the summer. 2. Moving back home- Mid-summer, my husband will be leaving the Marine Corps and we will move back to PA. 🙂 3. Travel- Before we leave Hawaii, we plan to go to the Big Island for 5-7 days. We also want to do a cross country road trip before heading back to PA. 4. Enjoy the moment- I am a chronic planner. I think that is why I feel that times flies by because I am always looking ahead to what is next. I hope to start focus on the present more and stop being anxious for the next step.

While in Kauai, my husband and I stayed at the Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy in Kapaa, on the eastern side of Kauai. I found the resort by rankings on TripAdvisor. It is ranked #10 for the island of Kauai, had great reviews, a great location, and the price was right! We only paid $114 a night+tax. It was easy to get to the north and south shores of the island, since it had a central location.

I was very impressed with the hotel! The staff was extremely friendly. They have a concierge there to assist with booking tours, if needed. I didn’t use this service, but it is a great option for those who did not book tours before arriving. The restaurant has a restaurant and spa, as well, which are located in the lobby building. The hotel is beachfront with amazing sunrise views! Everything is perfectly maintained.

The rooms go from studios, as we stayed in, to two bedrooms with full kitchens. Our studio came with a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and mini fridge, which is all we needed for our three night stay. We ate breakfast in the room to save on meal costs. We stayed on the first floor and had a partial ocean view and a little patio area. The rooms were very spacious. Our bathroom was huge! Housekeeping service was included daily, and came to restocked our used towels and toiletries.

The resort has grills (that you can use on a first come, first serve basis), a large pool, a hot tub, exercise room, and fire pits. The exercise room was equipped with a bike, elliptical, two treadmills, and a lifting machine. We used the pool once while we were there. It was only 7:30 at night, but we had the entire pool to ourselves. The sky was so clear, you could see so many stars when floating in the pool. This resort is very quiet, which we really enjoyed. You could truly relax here. I recommend looking into this resort when planning your trip to Kauai! 🙂

Unfortunately, our Kauai trip was on its last day. We were sad to be leaving the beautiful island, but we had a little more adventuring to do before saying good-bye.

We drove north on Route 56/560 as far as you can go… Ke’e Beach. Along the way we made several stops. First was the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge. The admission is $5 per person to walk over to the lighthouse and around the grounds. It includes a tour of the lighthouse, but we did not do that due to our time restriction. You get great views of the coast of Kauai and the ocean. This would be a great spot to see the Humpback Whales.

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Our next stop was a quick, roadside stop at Hanalei Valley Lookout. It shows a pretty view of the farmlands in the valley. The turn-off is right along the road and has signs, so you will know when you are approaching it.

We then drove the rest of the way north on 560, which ends at the parking lot at Ke’e Beach. The drive goes through several small towns, along beaches, and through the forest. As you approach the last few miles, you come across several one-lane bridges. Unfortunately, Ke’e Beach was packed, so we were unable to park and see the beach, so we turned around and went to look at a cave we unexpectedly saw while driving. There are two caves right along the very end of Route 560. The last one we did not look at because there was nowhere to park since it was so close to the beach. The second one, we did get to walk in. It didn’t go in very far,but it was kind of eerie as you got towards the back. I really love small town Hawaii!

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Lunch was next! We stopped at Bouchons Grill & Sushi Bar in Hanalei. They had a huge menu. The ambiance with the brick walls and opened windows was very nice. I had the beer-battered Ono and fries. It was so delicious and was a huge portion! Hawaii is going to spoil me with great seafood meals! I wanted dessert after the meal, so we went to JoJo’s Shaved Ice right beside Bouchons, and I got a HUGE cone vanilla ice cream waffle cone. Bouchons and JoJo’s were in Ching Young Village Shopping Center in Hanalei. I didn’t get a chance to walk around the shops, but while sitting outside JoJo’s, eating my massive cone, I could just feel the great vibe the area gave off.

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That brought our beautiful Kauai trip to a close. 😦 We drove back down the coast to Lihue Airport for our 5:20 flight back to Honolulu then our flights back to Pittsburgh. I will write a detailed hotel write-up tomorrow. 🙂

I was really excited for Day 3 on Kauai because we were going to Waimea Canyon and going on a sunset cruise to the breathtaking Na Pali Coast.

With the hotel right on the beach and on the east side of the island, we had the perfect opportunity to watch the sunrise. There is nothing quite like a sunrise… watching the new day come to life. It was a perfect view!

Our first activity of the day was the long 1 1/2 hour drive to Waimea Canyon, nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. The drive was so worth the amazing views you see on this drive. There are numerous overlooks of the ocean and the canyon during the drive beginning once you get onto Route 550. It is a winding road and you have to go slow (due to the road and so you do not miss the overlooks). There are several hikes you are able to do at the canyon. We were planning on doing the one, but, with my husband’s knee issue, we weren’t able to do it. Seriously, the beauty of this canyon cannot even be described adequately, so I will just leave you with the slideshow below.

View of the Forbidden Island

Our next stop was lunch at the Port Allen Sunset Grill & Bar. Originally, our plan was to go to the Kauai Island Brewery & Grill, but they were closed that day. It worked out though because this restaurant was great! I ordered the chicken wrap and fries. My husband got one of the daily specials with a variety of seafood. I tried the scallops on his order, and they were the best scallops I have ever had! For dessert, we shared the chocolate mudslide. It was HUGE and yummy!

We had a 1:45 check-in at Capt. Andy’s Sailing Adventures , which was right beside the restaurant. We did the “Na Pali Dinner Sunset Tour”. It was the exact same tour as the “Star Class Dinner Sunset Sail” with the exception of the meal served and the price. Our tour was a delicious buffet-style with bread, salad, chicken teriyaki, steak tips with onions and onions, and rice. The other tour has a fancier meal, which, in my opinion, is not worth the extra $30. The tour was 4 hours long (2:30pm-6:30pm)

I cannot say enough great things about this tour! Our captain was awesome! We saw about a dozen whales and 50+ dolphins on our tour. Our captain went out of the way to make sure we saw these animals. The other boat, the more expensive one, made no detour whatsoever. They paid more and got less of an experience, not stopping for the sea life or the sunset. As soon as we took off, they put out pretzels and pineapple for us to snack on. They also had a cooler with juice, pop, and water, you could grab as many as you needed throughout the tour. The two guys on the crew helping, Paul and Brayden, took plates of food around for people and were constantly looking out for sea life to point out to us. They made sure everyone always had exactly what they needed, helped you across the boat if needed, and were just so so friendly! The first half of the tour is when we saw all the sea life, as we made our way to the awe-inspiring Na Pali Coast. Na Pali means “many cliffs”, you will see below in the pictures that this is very true. Unfortunately I was not able to get any videos or pictures of the whales, but it is not something I will ever forget! Once we made it to our halfway point and in front of the Na Pali Coast, we stopped and dinner was served. Along with dinner, the bar also opened with unlimited free drinks. The “Sneaky Tiki”, their signature drink, was so good. I had three or four. Haha. They kept the bar open for almost the entire way back. For dessert, they served cheesecake, which was also very good. After being docked for a little, we made our way back. We stopped once on the way back to watch the gorgeous sunset.

This tour was everything you would want on a Hawaiian sailing adventure!! Great captain, great crew, great food, great drinks, great scenery, great music. The entire atmosphere was so pleasing. It was the absolute perfect way to spend our last night on Kauai. Please, please make sure you book a sailing tour with Capt Andy’s on your visit. They do not disappoint!!

Just a heads up- Bring a coat, as it gets chilly on the boat with the wind. Also, you do go barefoot on the boat. You also may get wet… very wet. My husband and I were towards the front of the boat and at one point, I was also soaked, but I was having so much fun I didn’t care at all! You can stand places without the fear of getting wet, but, in my opinion, just go for it, it is worth it!

After a fun first day on Kauai, my husband and I were excited for day 2. Our first stop was Wailua Falls. The parking area is small, but it is a nice quick stop to see the gorgeous waterfalls. There is no hiking required, which is not typical in Hawaii… usually there is, at the very least, a short hike before being able to see a waterfall. It was nice to just to be able to simply drive, park, and walk a few steps to the overlook.

The next stop was Kilohana Plantation. We went on the 40 minute train ride through the plantation grounds. We stopped about halfway through and were able to feed the goats, boars, and chickens that they have on the grounds. Being a huge animal lover, this was the most exciting part for me. 🙂 The train ride has beautiful scenic views of the plantation and the surrounding area. Afterwards, we went to the Koloa Rum Company store, which is also on the plantation. They offer free rum tastings every half hour, which I recommend. The rum is delicious! The plantation also has a mansion with shops and a restaurant.

Our big activity of the day was tubing at Kauai Backcountry Adventures. Kauai Backcountry has the tubing tour and two zipline tours. The tubing tour is about 3 hours long. However, about one hour of it is driving to and from their office to the tubing site, just to keep that in mind when booking. While on the way up the tubing site, you stop at a lookout to view the second highest peak on the island, Mount Wai’ale’ale. This peak is very wet; getting 450 inches of rain per year. Once getting to the tubing site, it wasn’t long before we were in the water and on our way. The tubing takes place in the irrigation system of the former Lihue Plantation. The water may be warmer other times in the year, but in December, it was chilly. But you do not want to say that or you will get splashed- stick with the words “refreshing” or “life-changing”. The tubing adventure has five tunnels you go through that range in length. The water speed is mostly gentle, but there are a few spots where it gets a little rough. There is also a 36 inch drop at one point. After the tubing was over, a small lunch of a sandwich, chips, and a cookie was given at a picnic area beside a small stream. The scenery up in the mountains was beautiful! Our guides were so funny and provided a lot of information about the island. They were happy to answer questions about things to do and where to eat, so take advantage of this!

Advice- Again, make sure you have waterproof shoes. You need to have closed-toed shoes on this tour and since you get wet, you do not want to be wearing your good tennis shoes. Also, make sure you are wearing a bathing suit and bring extra clothes to change into afterwards. You will be much more comfortable.

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For dinner, we went to the Bull Shed Restaurant. This was another short drive north from our hotel, about 5 minutes. This restaurant sits right on the beach. We were lucky enough to get a oceanfront table and could see the waves coming on the the beach, even though it was dark out. This restaurant is pricey, but, of course, that isn’t uncommon for beachfront restaurants. My husband and I shared the scallops cooked in mushrooms and parmesan cheese, which were so yummy! I had a Lava Flow from the drink menu, which was a slushy pina colada-tasting drink with a splash of strawberry. For out entrees, I got the grilled shrimp and my husband got the steak and lobster, both were served with rice. Our meals also included the salad bar. I enjoyed my meal, but my husband thought his steak was bland. Knowing that my husband is sometimes picky, I would still recommend this restaurant to those visiting Kauai and staying on the east side.

My husband and I flew out of Honolulu to Lihue on the morning of December 6th. The flight was only about 20-25 minutes, which was nice. Below is a picture flying into Kauai. Unfortunately, the plane then turned to the other side, so I couldn’t get any closer pictures. When we landed, it was only a short walk to the baggage claim since the airport is very small.

We got our baggage then too the shuttle to Budget to get our rental car. I highly recommend renting a car while visiting Kauai. This island does not have a center of activity, like Waikiki on Oahu. Everything is spread out and if you do not rent a car, you will leave without really experiencing the island. After picking up our mid-sized Ford, we were finally on our way!

Our first planned activity was Kauai ATV‘s Waterfall Tour. It was about a 25 minute drive from the airport. It was nice to be able to take in the scenery, which is so different than Oahu. We drove through the infamous “Tree Tunnel” on Route 520, just off of Route 50. As you can see below, the road is completely surrounded by trees that arch over the road.

We got to Kauai ATV about an hour before our check-in time, so we walked over to the Old Koloa Town shopping area, located right beside Kauai ATV. Its a small shopping area with shops, dining, and a little history center. The history center describes Koloa’s history as the site of Hawaii’s first successful sugar mill. It was a nice way to kill time before our 11:30 check-in for the ATV tour.

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Kauai ATV offers two ATV tours, one zipline tour, and bass fishing. My husband and I chose the 4-Hour ATV Waterfall Tour. On this tour you travel a total of 23 miles around the grounds of the former Koloa Sugar Mill. Halfway through you stop for lunch, which consists of a sandwich, chips, and a cookie, at a waterfall. You can swim, take a walk through the forest, or just relax at this time. This tour was so so fun! Our guides, Kalena and Evan, were awesome! The grounds have gorgeous views of the mountain range on Kauai. You will get dirty on this tour… very dirty! My husband hit every single pothole full of mud and muddy water. A few of the puddles were so deep that the wave from hitting them was taller than our ATV. By the end, I was so soaked that it looked like I got a bath in my clothes.

Good news- Kauai ATV provides shirts and shorts, so you do not have to get yours dirty. They also have outdoor showers for after the tour, so make sure you wear a bathing suit under your clothes, so you can shower afterwards!

Advice- Buy waterproof shoes. We got ours at Sports Authority (Hawaii’s Dick’s Sporting Good pretty much) for $8. The family with us on the tour wore their regular tennis shoes and they were filthy and soaked by the end of the tour, and most likely ruined.

Heads Up- Remember, things happen. We had had three break-downs during the tour. Two of them were fixed very quickly, one took longer. We were still done on time, so I am guessing that time is built in for these happenings. I was not upset, but I know some people aren’t so understanding.

Enjoy some videos and pictures below 🙂

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After cleaning up, we checked into our hotel, Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy. I will write a more detailed post on the hotel. After cleaning up again, we decided on where to go to dinner. The plan was to go to Harley’s Tropical Barbecue, which was a short walk from the hotel, but it was closed. We walked back and figured we would try to hotel restaurant. While the hotel was great, we were not impressed by the hotel menu and prices, so we opted out of that. Finally, we found Bobby V’s Italian Restaurant, a 5-minute drive north from the hotel. There is the option to sit inside or outside. We chose outside, as we usually do. We shared spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer. It was served with fresh, warm bread for dipping. Yum! For our entrees, I chose the spinach manicotti and he chose the chicken pesto. Both dishes were delicious and enough for another meal. The server was very attentive and though it was busy, she regularly checked on us to make sure we had everything we needed. I definitely recommend dining there, if you are staying close by!